More than 75 leaders, professionals and students from more than 50 universities and organizations nationwide gathered at Duke University July 13-15 for the 2025 Collegiate Sports Sustainability Conference, hosted by Duke’s Office of Climate & Sustainability and supported by Duke Athletics. The event brought together a national network of changemakers at the intersection of athletics and sustainability to share successful campus strategies – and together help build the new Collegiate Sports Sustainability Network.
Conference attendees engaged in panels, discussions and tours covering key sustainability topics—from waste diversion and travel emissions to fan engagement and student leadership.
Annabelle Bardenheier of Stanford University and Jessica Bast of NC State University focused on reducing the carbon footprint of athletic travel, a significant contributor to Scope 3 emissions at universities. Bast shared how NC State leveraged student talent to hire a computer science graduate student to build a tool to track emissions from air travel. Bardenheier explained Stanford’s method of estimating emissions based on a distance based approach and usage of team size and flight type, highlighting that smaller chartered planes can be nearly twice as emissive as larger flights.
Their message was clear: Athletics is a great place to start with Scope 3 emissions work because “they know where teams and students are traveling,” they said.
Sessions also addressed waste management at large sporting events. Chad DeWitt (University of Virginia), Dr. Joseph W. Dorsey (University of South Florida), and Mike Freeman (Auburn University) offered real-world solutions for gameday recycling and composting. UVA reported success with student volunteers and a color-coded bin liner system to help sorters and custodial staff, while Auburn addressed the rising challenge of vape pen waste—containing hazardous nicotine, batteries and electronics. “It’s best to say: don’t bring vape pens to the stadium; best to leave them in the car,” Freeman said.
Dorsey highlighted his "Fields of Green” sustainability model born from academics and athletics collaboration, now supported by Coca-Cola and integrated into Dorsey’s classroom projects. “If we sustain it, we will thrive,” his presentation read.
One of the most talked-about presentations came from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Wyatt Miner and Jay Price, who described their Zero Waste Gameday program. The initiative collects surplus stadium food and redistributes it to students and staff experiencing food insecurity.
Student leaders were at the heart of the conference. Haley Chu, a student-athlete at Stanford University, contributes to a course that explores sustainability through the lens of athletics. Chu herself was inspired by Duke and Stanford alumna Alayna Burns. After finding out that Burns organized shoe drives at Duke with department approval, cardboard boxes and advertising, “I was inspired to think about the low-hanging fruit of sustainability,” Chu said.
Trinity Savage of Duke University talked about serving as a Green Devil Sustainable Athletics Intern, the launch of Duke’s Athletics Climate Team, student-led initiatives Devils Doing Good Shoe Drive supported by the Nike Pilot program, and the role athletes, staff and fans can play in advancing sustainability. Presenting online from India, Savage spoke of leadership. “Sports is a big part of culture at Duke. Athletics can set the tone for sustainability. We are not only saving energy, but also saving costs,” Savage said. This past April, Savage helped with the launch of the Athletics Climate Team.
At UC Berkeley, Chloe Rand shared how Student-Athletes for the Environment (SAFE) are driving sustainability on campus—from food waste apps to utensil kits—leveraging student energy and social media to broaden impact. The secret sauce to involve students? Provide food, get word of mouth and be on social media, Rand said.
NC State’s Emily Mobley and Leo Kaiser-Potter described their revamped Zero Waste Wolfpack program, which diverted nearly 100,000 pounds of waste from football games last year. “I’m a zero-waste athlete,” Kaiser-Potter proudly declared.
Duke’s Brandon Hersh – who has served for the past year in a unique role in both Duke Athletics and the Office of Climate and Sustainability - led a behind-the-scenes sustainability tour of Duke’s iconic athletic venues, including Cameron Indoor Stadium, where participants had a shootaround on the historic court. Bob Weiseman, Deputy Director of Athletics, Operations & Capital Projects, shared how Duke Athletics is integrating sustainability into high-performance sports environments.
The final day of the conference included speakers sharing community collaborations, partnerships and branded campaigns. Teddy Lhoutellier from the University of Miami and Dave Newport of Blue Strike Environmental shared how higher education institutions are aligning sustainability with athletics to drive fan engagement, support campus-wide partnerships and generate revenue. Newport said: “You meet the nicest people sorting garbage.”He shared strategies for fan engagement to create sustainable revenue. “If a team and sport demonstrates the ethic of sustainability, it builds community with fans.”
The conference concluded with a look to the future: the launch of the Collegiate Sports Sustainability Network (CSSN), announced by Duke’s Lindsay Batchelor and NC State’s Lani St. Hill. Designed to unify efforts across campuses nationwide, CSSN will provide resources and a platform for continued innovation and future conferences.
Duke Vice President and Director of Athletics Nina King closed the event by thanking participants for leading the way and being involved in sports sustainability for the future.
A fitting end to the conference came with a tour by Kavanah Anderson of Sarah P. Duke Gardens, where attendees explored one of Duke’s greenest gems before traveling home.